Cheers Darlin'
by radical-rebel
Summary: One shot. How Anamaria met Jack and fell in love with him. Hooray for backstory! Please R&R, but no flames, thanks!


_A/N: I was bored on a snow day, so I wrote the story of how I believe Anamaria met Jack and fell in love with him. Hooray for back-story! One shot, because I don't have enough patience or ideas to write more. I can handle constructive criticism, but no flames please. _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing, because if I did, I wouldn't be posting things on a fanfiction site. _

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Cheers Darlin'

The Dragon's Claw always smelled strongly of alcohol and tobacco, no matter the time of day. That was where I sat now, alone and un-noticed. My table was in the far side of the room, in a position that I could see most of what happened in the pub without being too conspicuous. It served my purposes quite nicely.

My purposes? Well, nearly everyday I wasn't at sea I would sit in the Dragon's Claw and listen for news. I wanted to hear something, anything, about a certain pirate and his crew. I watched too, just in case anyone who could tell me what I wanted to know happened to walk through that door. If they did, I would be on them quicker than they could say "a pirate's life for me."

Captain Jack Sparrow last sailed from Port Royal in order to out-run Commodore Norrington and his men. He made port at Tortuga for a short time in order to grab supplies, and a small number of crew members jumped ship. I was one of those. I couldn't stand being aboard the Pearl. Not now. Not anymore.

It had been several months since that day. I had merely gathered my things (of which there were few) and followed the rest of the crew off the ship. Most of them were planning to come back, after finding some food and drink at one of the many pubs. I wasn't planning to return. Jack hadn't even said goodbye. He watched me leaving though; I know because I felt his eyes on me. Just like old times.

Images of a tangled mess of arms, legs, and lips filled my mind unbidden. I shooed them away quickly. I knew that Jack had never stayed with one lover. In the days before, he would sleep with whomever he pleased. I knew what sort of man he was when I met him. Even thought it was years ago, I remember it perfectly.

I was a passenger on a rum-trading ship; the second mate, a man named George, was the man who I was currently involved with. He and I had met each other in a town called Port Augusta, where his ship, the Santa Maria, was stopping to unload its cargo. Most of the men were unwilling to let me onboard the ship because of the supposed bad luck having a woman on board would bring. Once George explained that it couldn't possibly be bad luck to have "Anamaria" on the "Santa Maria," they reluctantly agreed.

George and I were planning to get off together at the next town. That was, until we stopped at a rum cache on the way and found Jack Sparrow waiting for us. After debating a while with the captain, it was agreed that Jack would join our ship until she stopped at Tortuga, in about two weeks time. I was already bored to tears with the life of a rum trader. This seemed just the kind of distraction I needed.

And so the pirate among our ranks became more and more of an interest to me. The infamous Captain Jack Sparrow. I spent less of my time with George and more of it conversing with Jack. He told me all about his adventures, about being marooned by his own crew. We spent hours sitting on the deck, the wind blowing through our hair, while I listened to his stories. To me, those days were perfect.

Eventually, as I suppose was bound to happen, George became jealous. He told me that he didn't want me speaking to a "no-good pirate." I fired back that he had no control over me. The fight that followed resulted in my moving into Jack's quarter's that very night. I still remember the look on Jack's face as I stormed into his room. He eyes widened in shock, but behind it I could just see a degree of fear. I must have looked murderous; I have quite the temper, or so I'm told.

"I refuse to spend another night with that man," I said by way of explanation, closing the door before flinging myself into his arms and kissing him with everything I had.

He kissed me back, before pushing me off of him in order to whisper, "Ana, you know I'm not the sort of man to commit."

"I don't care," I replied breathlessly. He pulled me back to him then, kissing me with abandon. That night I learned more about Jack Sparrow than he had ever told me in words.

When the Santa Maria pulled into Tortuga, Jack and I sneaked off without informing anyone, renting a room at the Dragon's Claw. For the next few days we hid out there, waiting for the ship to leave. We agreed that it would be better for the both of us if George did not see us together. We also agreed that it would probably be better for Jack if the crew did not see him, because they might be willing to follow any order George might have given them. If we needed anything, we were cautious about sneaking out into town to get it. Jack had fun dressing me up as an Indian merchant in order to get some rum from the downstairs of the pub.

Luckily the Santa Maria didn't stay in port long. The ship departed after a few days (five, I believe), and Jack and I were finally able to live out of hiding. I rejoiced in it. We drank in the open, flirted in the open, kissed in the open. Everything seemed exactly how I had wanted.

Until I came back to our rooms one day to find them empty. Jack was gone; no note, not goodbye, nothing. Despite his warning the first night we'd slept together, I couldn't help but feel a slight bit heartbroken. For the next few days I drowned my sorrow in good old alcohol.

Then I decided to do some looking into Jack and his disappearance. After asking around, all I learned was that he had been messing with several of the local ladies wherever I wasn't there to catch him. When the last woman I spoke to told me that she had spent an hour with him in his rooms, I punched her. I had been trying not to react badly, but she had been "lucky" number seven.

Not knowing if he would come back, and not wishing to see him if he did, I caught passage on a ship to another island. For years I traveled constantly, never staying in one place for long. I didn't have a permanent spot on one ship, and I didn't want one anyway. I talked my way onto whatever ship I could, going wherever they went. Eventually, though, I got stuck.

I was on one of the smaller in a group of islands in the Pacific, and I had heard that a person looking for excitement should travel to the largest. I quickly found an old gent, bartered his equally-old boat off him, and set sail. I barely made it; by the time I arrived, my new boat was half-filled with sea water. I decided there wasn't any harm in staying there for a while, long enough to fix my boat and do some exploring of the island and the town.

For the first few days on that island, I didn't leave the harbor. I was determined to patch up my boat before anything else, just in case I had to leave in a hurry. Better safe then sorry. I was finishing one of the last patches, just under the boat's bow, when a familiar voice came from behind me.

"I never expected to see you here, Ana."

I turned around, the bright sun momentarily blinding me, to see Captain Jack Sparrow standing in front of me. I lunged at him, throwing my arms around him and kissing him thoroughly, and he kissed me back. Then I pulled away and smacked him.

"How dare you!" I screamed at him. "You disappear, leaving me all alone in Tortuga with no hint as to your whereabouts, and you have the nerve to show up here three years later acting like nothing happened?"

Jack flinched at the volume of my voice, and I was pleased to see a red mark forming on his cheek where I had hit him.

"I couldn't help it, love," he explained calmly. "There was a ship leaving for Singapore."

"And?" I practically exploded.

"They were going pirating. And you should know I can't stay in one place for too long." He said that last sentence as if that would excuse everything. I didn't think so.

"Yes you can!" I began to yell, but was cut off when he pulled me into his arms and kissed me soundly.

"Am I forgiven, love?" He questioned, still holding me in his arms. Like he didn't already know the answer.

"Well, I guess," I replied.

We spent our days together wandering around the island, now that my boat was fixed. It was like a trip back in time, back to when we had lived together in Tortuga. When we weren't drifting aimlessly around the town we were in the room he had rented for the two of us. That was where all our nights were spent.

Sure, sometimes he wasn't there. Sometimes I would wake up to find myself alone. I didn't know where he went, but I would occupy myself the same way I would if he were there. He usually wasn't gone for too long. I contributed it to his lack of being able to stay in one place for long, and I never questioned him about it.

The last night I spent in Jack's company was unknowingly so. He came in to our room after an hour of being gone, carrying two bottles of rum with him.

"We're celebrating, Ana," he said when I asked him about it. He sat down on the bed next to me and handed me one of the bottles. "Cheers, darlin'," he winked and clinked his bottle against mine before drinking. I watched him for a moment, wondering what the real point of the rum was. Then, deciding that it didn't really matter, I succumbed and drank.

"Jack?"

We were in bed together; the moon was shining in through the curtains while I lay in his arms, tracing patterns on his chest with my fingers.

"Yes love?"

"Why do you always leave?"

He sat up a bit, leaning against the bed frame. I shifted so that it would be easier for him to continue holding me, lifting my head up so that I could see his face. "I told you before, didn't I?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, you can't stay in one place," I recited. "But why can't you?"

"Hmm," he thought. "The same reason that you can't, or that any body else can't. It's a certain amount of restlessness."

"But what if you really care about somebody? Don't you want to stay for them?"

He looked down at me, his kohl-painted eyes squinted. "I suppose I might. But then, I always come back. I may not be able to stay in one place, but I can't desert it either. Take Tortuga, for example. I've been telling myself for years that I don't want to go back there. Too many people that know me. And yet, I can't to go more'n a few months without making port there."

"Tortuga…" I whispered. "Do you think I'll always be able to find you there?"

"Probably, since I can't seem to leave the place alone."

"Ok," I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder. I knew it then; I was in love with Jack Sparrow. I had told myself not to get attached, and I had tried, I really had. But that night I realized that I had failed. I had fallen in love with someone who probably didn't (or couldn't) love me in return. But right then, knowing that fact wouldn't help me in any way. All I could do was enjoy the time I had with him. And so I slowly fell into sleep, the sound of his breathing a soft lullaby.

In the morning I awoke, naked and completely alone. What made this time different from the others was that none of Jack's things were in the room anymore. It took me a minute to get my bearings, but once I did I climbed out of bed, sloppily pulled on my clothes, and went downstairs. The innkeeper was just opening the place for business, so I walked over to him.

"Have you seen the man I was rooming with this morning?"

He blinked at me, thinking, and then responded, "Yeah, he high-tailed it outta here pretty early. Paid in full, even gave me a little extra. I'm assumin' that's for you, Miss, if you plan on stayin' longer."

I politely excused myself from the innkeeper, made my way up to the room that now only belonged to me, and threw a fit. I hurled a couple of my belongings into the wall, kicked the bed, and screamed into one of the pillows until I couldn't scream anymore. Then I flung myself onto the bed and lay there like a rock, just breathing. I'd been abandoned again.

When I calmed down enough to think, I remembered something that Jack had mentioned the night before.

"Your boat's in workin' order, right love?" He had asked me. I had responded that I'd patched it up beautifully. Now why had he wanted to know about that?

Without wasting another moment I raced down to the harbor, stopping just before I skidded into the ocean. The boat was gone. Cut loose, from the looks of the frayed rope still tied to the pier. I screamed again, this time gaining a few odd looks from the people walking by me. I hated Jack Sparrow.

In the next few years I continued traveling, but Jack was never far from my thoughts. Sometimes I would dream that he had come back, only to wake up and find that he really hadn't. I became quieter, morose, almost like a shadow. I barely spoke at all. I ended up back in Tortuga after a time, hoping, praying that what Jack told me that night had been true. I was beginning to lose faith, until one fateful day.

"Did you hear? Captain Jack Sparrow's back!"

I nearly slopped my rum down the front of my shirt in my rush to sit up straight. Jack Sparrow? I quickly stood and made my way over to the old pirate gossipers.

"Excuse me; did you say Jack Sparrow's back in town?"

"Oh yes, he's down at the docks," one of them informed me. "Looking for a crew, he is. He's come with some young pirate and a fancy ship."

That bastard, I thought angrily. I thanked the old men for their help, grabbed my hat, and left the money for my drink on the table before running down to the docks. He wasn't gonna leave until he and I had some words.

Down at the dock, I spotted the line of men waiting to be chosen for the crew. I pulled my hair up under my hat, pulled my hat down over my eyes, and joined the line. When Jack sauntered over to the line of men, I nearly leapt at him. It took all of my self restraint not to give myself away. Instead I waited until he seemed done with his speech to the crowd before calling to get his attention.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

Jack froze; I knew he recognized my voice. Carefully he swung around and strolled up to me, stopping right in front of me and yanking the hat off my head.

"Anamaria," he stated, by way of hello. I slapped him.

Thus started our adventure of recovering Jack's darling Pearl and young Will Turner's darling Miss Swann. The adventure which just about drove me mad. Jack paid me little attention; he was too focused on the recovery of his ship. He barely even noticed me, and it was killing me.

I nearly broke down when Turner returned from the Isla de Muerta and said that Jack had fallen behind. It couldn't be possible, I told myself over and over. And I turned out to be right, when Jack joined us in our fight against the Pearl. My relief was more than I can say. Until I had to watch Jack walk the plank with the Swann girl. My only thoughts while locked up in the hold of the Black Pearl were of Jack, and of my hope that he was alright.

After Miss Swann released us from the hold, Gibbs and I spoke with the crew. We had the Pearl now. We had hid and watched as the Dauntless left with Jack onboard. I felt, of course, that it was our duty to go after them. It took some convincing, but with Gibbs's help I finally got the crew to agree to a rescue mission. We set sail for Port Royal, which was where Gibbs told us they would be going.

We stopped outside the harbor, waiting. Gibbs said, and I couldn't help but agree, that Jack would probably try an escape. And try he did, and we were there to catch him. But he explained that we couldn't stay near there, because the Commodore would chase him, and he charted a course for Tortuga for supplies.

That was how I ended up here, broken-hearted and filled with rum. I couldn't stay on that ship. I couldn't spend my time pining after a man who I was hopelessly in love with, who didn't love me back. I knew that if I had stayed there, it would have killed me. And after all, Jack had said he'd always come back. So at the Dragon's Claw I lived, waiting. Waiting for Jack Sparrow to return.

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_A/N: Let me know if I made any mistakes, in the plot, grammar or otherwise, and I'll correct them. Now, push the little purple button down there. You know you want to. _


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